chickfactor
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Posts posted by chickfactor
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On 10/2/2022 at 6:57 AM, agenth said:
Bonus feature of this drink as @partyon wanted it. What is the fuss about iced americano for Koreans? It#s a straightforward drink: just coffee, no extra calories. Something that is not only popular during summer, but all year around!
I, too, am mystified the Korean love for Iced Americano, also known as "AH-AH." It is so popular that it has a ridiculous abbreviation/nickname!
(Another fun abbreviation/nickname: AH-BA-RA = Iced Vanilla Latte.)
My theories:
- Koreans love America so much, they want to honor it by drinking Americano?
- "Americano" is a fun word to say? (But they abbreviate it anyway.)
- Koreans don't really like bitter coffee, like straight espresso?
- Americano is half water, so it costs less to make, and a great way to make people pay premium coffee prices for regular coffee! It's coffee propaganda!
My personal opinion on Iced Americano - When Hong Cha-yeong ordered Iced Americano at a coffee shop, Vincenzo replied, "Italians consider Americano sewer water." And I FELT SEEN. That is all.
(Hong Cha-yeong changed her order to "Iced Sewer Water," because she is sassy like that.)
ETA: I found a screencap
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I'm enjoying it so far.
Always love Park Min-yeong.
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For those in the U.S. -this drama is available on Hulu. FYI
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I am late to the party but I finally caught this one and I really loved it!
It was just so adorable and sweet. If you're in a bit of a k-drama slump - like I was - and want something good to watch, give it a try.
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There's a fun term I learned recently - 용두사미(龍頭蛇尾) yong-du-sa-mi. It means "dragon head snake tail." It's basically describes a thing/situation in which the beginning is awesome, but the end is lame.
And I learned the term when used to describe a k-drama that begins great and the end is bad. So... haha, this is a yong-du-sa-mi poll!
I think a drama's bad ending is the most disappointing when the beginning was so promising and so good. If the drama is kind of blah throughout, it's hard to get too worked up about the ending for a story you're not that invested in.
For me, the yong-du-sa-mi drama is 2521. That one still hurts. Because it was so good and so lovable. I think that one really hurts a lot of people still, because no one seems to even want to talk about it anymore. The viewers have all collectively blocked that one from our mind like PTSD.
Anyway, I do think that there are different types of dragon-to-snake dramas. Sometimes it seems the writer just wrote him/herself into a corner and doesn't know how to end the story, so they pull something out of thin air. Or the story was just misconceived in the first place.
And sometimes - and I think it's what happened in 2521 *AND* Reply 1988 - the show becomes its own wonderous creature that wasn't fully anticipated, so the ending that was planned doesn't fit, but the creators just stick to the original ending anyway.
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I binge-watched this last night forgoing sleep - it's been a while since I did that - and it was great! So much fun, so suspenseful and interesting. What a crazy story.
I don't even particularly like this genre - the violent crime thriller. But it was good. The story was absolutely bonkers, in a good way, and the actors were all top-notch.
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One thing that I find very interesting in this drama is an exploration of people's attitude towards and relationship with money. If you think about it, so much of K-dramas set in the modern era are so deeply entwined with money issues - the ever-present chaebol, the smart and poor hero(ine), either good-hearted and spunky or embittered and vengeful, the profligate and spoiled rich child, their invariably corrupt parents, and the vast chasm that exists between the haves and the have-nots. And I feel like this show, more than others, has some thoughtful exploration behind how the people in these different classes feel about their money, or lack thereof.
- At first, it was freaking me out how In-ju is so naive. But at the same time, I get it. For In-ju, having experienced her sister's death at a young age, money means life or death. And being the oldest child of a family with parents who provide no help, she feels this weight, this dearth, even more acutely.
So at first, it seemed weird that In-ju doesn't have any idea what to do with this pile of money that she literally carries on her back. But then again, I understood it because she actually has no idea what to do with it. Her asking her Great Aunt for advice was the smartest decision she's made so far.
- Nam Ji-hyeon's natural earnestness is doing a lot of work here, and she has very cute chemistry and ease with Neighbor Boy Jong-ho. Jo should marry Teddy and upend this narrative that is over a century old! This is K-drama, so why not.
And for In-gyeong, she is too righteous to allow herself to enjoy or have any money. She had access to her rich aunt as a child, and even opportunities and talent to earn much more, and she decided not to accept any of it due to her idealism.
- I can't say I feel any particular affection or identification with In-hye, the youngest sister. But she's been through A LOT, and her health is frail, so I'm not going to fault her. But she certainly is the most complex sister. A lot going on in her head.
For In-hye, money isn't about survival, but about a state of being that she aspires to that she is willing to sell her soul for... so far. It remains to be seen how much she is willing to give up, in the end.
Aside from the sisters, you also see other people's varying attitudes towards how they regard money, and their unique relationships to it. The sisters' father has a gambling problem, the sisters' mother stole from her own daughters, and of course, you have Hwa-yeong, who certainly had a very unique relationship with money. And most of all, you've got the sisters' Great Aunt who decided to become rich, achieved her goals, and has a very sang-froid relationship with money. I honestly find her most fascinating, and her lecture to In-ju about the kind of emotional security that a nice home can provide was really interesting to me.
In general, Great Aunt is the hidden bullet that's going to save these sisters when everything really goes down. The unflappable Park Jae-sang was definitely pretty shook when Great Aunt confronted him. This woman knows things.
(I guess the last thing I'll talk about is Park Jae-sang played by Uhm Gi-jun, and how I have a tiny trauma flashback everytime he appears on screen, having sat through all three seasons of "Penthouse." Goodness, what has that show done to my brain.)
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More crazy K-netz theories:
SpoilerHwa-yeong had plastic surgery and she switched places with Won Sang-ah. Won Sang-ah is actually Hwa-yeong.
Hwa-yeong and Won Sang-ah are actually sisters.
Hyo-rin is the "dead" fourth sister. The mother sold her to a rich family and said she was dead. (This doesn't explain how she is the same age as In-hye, but this is a K-drama so why not?)
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The same actor playing a judge in the opening scene was also a judge in a trial scene in _Good Detective 2_ which I also watched today. That was so confusing. Haha.
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A couple of Knetz theories for fun:
Spoiler1. Hwa-yeong is not dead. News report of her suicide said that she had plastic surgery a week before her death, which accounts for the corpse having a different face.
2. Hwa-yeong is In-ju's real sister. Birth secret!
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10 hours ago, Jamie Hartford said:
Sorry to cut your post, but I really need to ask about this.
I have question regarding liver donation in Korea. I thought the only person that can donate liver is the family members. If the writer meant to have grandpa do it, that means she needs to register under him, right? I do not know if anybody remember the drama, My Only One, Mr. Kang couldn’t donate his liver unless he is part of family, that’s why he married Hong Ju. Does that applies here too? Cause right now, even through Grandpa and SJ are blood related, but not in paper, how does that gonna play out?
I am not 100% sure this applies here - but the reason they require the donor to be a family member is so that the doctors can be sure that this isn't a situation where the donor is being paid for the organ donation. So if the donor is a blood relative, although not on paper, that can be enough to assure the doctors that this isn't some "black market" deal.
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I loved it. I can't wait until next week.
I watched knowing nothing about the plot or the rest of the cast except the actresses for the three sisters and Wie Ha-jun. So it was a pleasure seeing Chu Ja-hyeon (YAY!!) and Oh Jeong-se (YAY!!) only for them to die off so quickly. NOOOO! Gone too soon.
Wow, people are dropping like flies, including that informant at the fish market. The sisters are in danger!
Also loved seeing Park Ji-yeong as the sisters' mother. Playing another bad lady? Yes, another bad lady! Her stone cold witch energy lives yet again! (She's not Marmee March from the original book, that's for sure.)
I just binge-watched both seasons of _Yumi's Cells_ recently, so everytime Kim Go-eun's voice warbles a little, I keep thinking, "Yumi, what does your Cheapskate Cell say about this bag of money? What does your Love Cell say about Wie Ha-jun? What does your Fashion Cell say about those blingy shoes?" Oh, I cannot quit _Yumi._
Anyway... it's great. Female-centric story with a female director. The last drama I loved (just yesterday) was _Anna._ Female-centric, female director. Pretty awesome!
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Has anyone watched it? I just watched the 8-episode Director's Cut on Amazon Prime, and I thought it was awesome! One of the best dramas of the year for me.
SpoilerHere's a Korean article about the differences in the Director's Cut and the original 6-episode Coupang Play version:
https://m.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/A2022081910450002559
It says that in Coupang's version, the focus is solely on Suzy's character, Anna. In the Director's Cut, there are flashback scenes that explain more about the backgrounds of Ji-won and Ji-hoon's characters which help explain their actions. There are also additional scenes that flesh out Anna's character more - one in particular shows how she reacted after she was sexually harassed by a fellow tenant at her gosiwon - that shows more of what kind of person she is.
These are all great scenes so even if I haven't watched the Coupang version, I recommend the Director's Cut.
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My thoughts on the show is:
Wow, fascinating! I think it's a great commentary on Korean society. The story is said to based on a real-life case about someone named Shin Jeong-ah who faked her academic credentials:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Jeong-ah
Her case set off a reevaluation about academic credentials and so many people including those in politics and the entertainment world have been found to have faked their academic credentials. So it's certainly a comment on South Korean society - how easy it was to fool people about this, and also how much importance is placed on academic credentials to define the value of a person that they end up lying about it so often.
Aside from that, it was also just really engaging and well-made. I don't want it to spoil it for anyone because it's good!
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Just wanted to let those in the U.S. know that this show, the original 6-episode version and the Director's Cut (8-episodes) is available on Amazon Prime in the U.S.
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My first Hong Sisters drama was "Warm and Cozy." Not a very auspicious beginning. And then I watched "Hwayugi."
So I am used to - "Exciting actors! Anticipation!" ... fading into ... "Soooo bored."
The good:
- Jeong So-min's last two lead roles were in "Fix You" and "Monthly Magazine Home." This is better than those!
- I love the actor that plays Park Dang-gu. That derpy smile on his face is cute. Himbo sexy!
- I love the actor who plays the Crown Prince. He's perfected the Constipated Sexy look.
- I love the actor who plays Seo Yul. Milquetoast sexy!
- Jang Wuk emerging from the fire! Honestly, that was pretty cool. I thought it would have been ever cooler if he was nude with baby dragons on his shoulder à la _Game of Thrones_.
The bad:
- I could have done without the dumb love triangle of Maidservant Kim, Park Jin, and Master Lee. That would have saved us a lot of time. If you removed that, this show would be the standard 16 episodes.
- Jang Gang. What the...
- Well, nitpicking every plot point would be twisting myself into knots, so... eh, whatever.
It was pretty fun, I guess.
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10 hours ago, partyon said:
Funny she never has any chingus in her dramas.
I love Yu-jeong!
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I am enjoying this, but wow, it sure is a giant slice of cheese on top of a pile of sugar. They literally had Ji Chang-wuk singing the title of this song.
I LOL'ed at that through a flood of tears.
I cried the entire time knowing that it's Se-hui's final performance. *sigh* It's just so sad.
I think shows like this are just bound to have low ratings, no matter how good and life-affirming they try to be. "The One and Only" scored below 1% ratings throughout most of its run despite being well-written and interesting. It was also set at a hospice for terminal patients, and I think people simply do not want to watch people dying, even if the story is that they achieve that sense of closure and peace before they go.
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Haha, I was laughing so hard at the scene with everyone stifling their laughter after those two guys were embracing and wailing after their respective stab-injuries and brain surgery. (Wow, that actor really shaved his head for this. Commitment!)
One of the things I loved about Season 1 was that old-timey cop-show music they played at the opening. It was just funny every time. But I am loving the new American(-ish) jazz they are playing. Including some original songs! It is amazing to hear Ella Fitzgerald in a K-drama, although it makes me apprehensive about who is paying for those songs. Disney Plus?
Or is this show going to end up Netflix and they will strip all the music out of it?
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If you compare Park Eun-bin's performance with some of the recent great performances of autistic characters by neurotypical actors (e.g., Tang Jun-sang in "Move to Heaven" and Oh Jeong-se in "It's Ok to Not be Ok") - or even Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man," I think her performance falls short. For those other performances, you really forgot you were watching an actor, you were immersed in the character. I can't really say that I felt that while watching WYW.
Despite everything, I just adore this actress and love her in everything, and she did a great job. Some people on the spectrum are high-functioning and a lot of people around them don't even realize they are autistic, and I chose to interpret her performance that way.
In the end, I liked that the show focused on who she was as a person, rather than an "autistic person." She was someone with a strong moral compass and compassion for others, but she was also fiercely ambitious and made mistakes and errors in judgment. So I liked that.
As far as her relationship with Jun-ho... the two moments that stood out for me were when she tried on the wedding dress and giggled with glee, or when she beamed as she pressed her hand to the glass as he pressed his on the other side. These moments were just absolutely transcendent, and the look on her face was amazing. These moments made the relationship for me, and it made me feel that whatever they have together doesn't have to be examined and figured out by anyone else.
The case that I found the most interesting was the one case that WYW lost - the scammer who preyed on differently-abled women. WYW's perspective was novel and interesting - the true freedom to love whoever you want includes the freedom to love a scammer, if they chose. Neurotypical people have this same freedom - after all, Su-yeon dated a lying jerk, too - so can't differently-abled people have the freedom to make the same mistakes without others infantilizing them and defining their feelings for them? I thought that was a really interesting question.
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On 8/15/2022 at 12:50 PM, frozentundra said:
Not yet. Disney is not airing it in North America, South America, or Europe, which I can. not. understand. They buy up streaming rights to Kdramas and then never show them in most of the world, it's crazy.
Yes, I am so not happy with what they are doing! Boo to Disney+. (At the moment, the only K-drama available on Disney+ in the U.S. is "Snowdrop," which they made available after the entire series had aired.)
My theory on why they do this: in the U.S., Disney+ is thought of as a kid-friendly service. Parents do not expect adult fare on that channel at all, and they've been complaining about it.
https://www.avclub.com/daredevil-disney-plus-parents-group-complaints-1848646231
Shows like "Big Mouth" is adult fare and should not be watched by children. I'm assuming that is why it's not available in the U.S., and probably never will be.
So I wish that Disney+ would just stay out of the K-drama business - most of it is not for young children, so leave it to Netflix or Viki or whatever, please? But at the same time, I'm assuming that they are making money in South Korea and other countries where the K-dramas are available, so...
Yeah, it's a bummer.
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Oooh, this is a really fun show and I have begun looking forward to Mondays now.
Without spoiling anything:
- Every episode is genuinely heartwarming. I love this ragtag clinic family and how they band together to help others and each other.
- The bunny is so cute!
- They tried to make acupuncture sexy. HAHAHA.
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Wow, they are laying the pathos on thick - vulnerable family-less boy with a shady past, prickly on the outside but just wants to be loved. Don't forget the dying pup. ... And it is all working for me.
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I am really enjoying this so far.
I just finished watching Kim Min-jae in "Dali and Cocky Prince" so it's so nice to see him in something else again. He is always great.
Although we see him be a "psychiatrist" with that guy who couldn't walk the tightrope, they're not really focusing on that, which is actually kind of nice. He's really just a doctor interested in helping heal others in whatever way he can.
Always pretty sad to see how women are treated in Joseon society. Even if you never even met your husband, you still belong to that family for the rest of your life. Glad Eun-woo got away.
Also pretty sad to see how the people of the "lower" caste are treated. The last two "cases" involve noblemen murdering someone and framing a random innocent person. I hope they have some more interesting stories.
And I love Eun-woo and Poong's partnership. They are really the best.
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I've been down the Yumi rabbit-hole for a month! I've just begun reading the webtoon, but I read posts from others who have read the whole thing, and here are a few things that might help explain some of the events:
SpoilerBabi's Cells:
1. Babi does not have a Love Cell. He has a "people pleaser" cell that is disguised as a Love Cell.
2. His prime cell is Detective Cell, which is very good at observing people and figuring out how to please them.
3. Another strong cell is his Try-Hard Cell.
4. He never shows his true self, which is why his previous relationships failed.
5. The Big Question: When did Babi first become attracted to Yumi? By seeing how sweet and loving Yumi and Woong were together! He wanted that for himself.
6. He ends up marrying Da-eun. She is a good match for him because she understands him really well and accepts and loves him for who he is.
7. He is able to show his real self to Da-eun.
8. He also follows his dreams by quitting marketing and becoming a chef.
9. His encouragement of her writing talent was genuine.
This poster complained that they didn't show these Babi's cells during the show. I agree, it would have been very informative. But I also think that it would have made it too easy to see that Yumi and Babi would not last, so there would be no suspense. Also, I think the show did a pretty good job of showing all these things about Babi's character without explaining it explicitly. He was never a bad person, but there was always that layer of doubt.
Woong apparently pines for Yumi for a while, but eventually moves on. They don't show him in another relationship, but they do show him open to love someone else.
Anyway, I loved it. It was a very thoughtful show that was also really clever and funny, and told the story at its own pace. I loved that Yumi learned and grew from each relationship, and most important for her was to learn to put herself first, and always be true to her own wants and needs. Although I would love to see S3, I think the show ended where we can be confident that she will be happy and fulfilled on her life's journey.
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Always love Park Min-yeong.
Or is this show going to end up Netflix and they will strip all the music out of it?
[Drama 2022] Big Mouth ◈ 빅마우스
in k-dramas & movies
Posted
For those who live in the U.S. - this entire series is on Hulu now.
I'm fine with a lot of these Disney+ shows ending up on Hulu instead. But I wish they would make it available as it's being aired, rather than after the full run.